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29 Mar 2014

Playbill.com correspondent Ben Rimalower offers a list of productions that changed the art form of the Broadway musical.

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When the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said "the only thing that is constant is change," he could have been talking about musical theatre. Then, perhaps a more apt understanding of the nature of musical theatre's evolution can be found in Darwin. As our culture changes over the years, musicals have adapted to fill the different roles they play in our lives, from times when they've offered respite from national depression to serving as a well for pop music to the great variety of offerings today, which range from challenging social commentary to comfort food "theme park" shows (so-called not for their similarity to shows at theme parks, but for their actual theme-park like experience of a mindless ride).

Click though to read my selections for the benchmark Broadway musicals that broke new ground and shaped the evolution of the art form.